To reiterate a suggestion I previously made, if you’re a filmmaker/producer/distributor reading this, and your film is streaming on Netflix, please let me know. Netflix unfortunately doesn’t have what I feel should be a more efficient search/sort method, and it can be quite a chore trying to find something worth watching. So, help me out if you can.
The same goes for non-filmmakers. If you stumble across any titles that you think should be featured in this weekly series, let me know!
But as usual… These aren’t necessarily recommendations. Consider the list more of an FYI – films and TV shows we’ve talked about on this site, at one time or another, that are now streaming on Netflix, that you might want to check out for yourselves.
Without further ado, here is this week’s list of 5:
1 – I was surprised to find out that this was already streaming on Netflix. It’s rare that a film of this caliber (high profile, Hollywood studio film, Oscar nominations, etc), is released on Netflix as a streaming title so soon after it’s theatrical and home video releases.
Denzel Washington stars in Flight, the drama directed by Robert Zemeckis, which centers on an alcoholic and drug-addicted pilot, on course towards a life-change who saves a flight from an engine malfunction, rescuing the plane and the passengers, and becoming a hero, only to find his non-public substance abuse problem, brought to light, thanks to an FAA investigation into the case.
Don Cheadle, Tamara Tunie and Garcelle Beauvais, amongst many others, co-star.
Here’s the trailer:
2 – Antoine Fuqua’s White House thriller Olympus Has Fallen, which stars Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman and Angela Bassett – another film I was surprised to see already available streaming on Netflix, for some (not all) of the very same reasons as Flight, above.
In the film, Butler stars as an unlikely Secret Service agent trying to stop North Korean terrorists who have taken over the White House with plans to detonate a nuclear bomb.
Robert Forster, Cole Hauser, Ashley Judd, Melissa Leo, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell and Rick Yune round out the cast.
It’s the second White-House-under-attack thriller released this year – the other being Roland Emmerich’s inferior White House Down, which stars Jamie Foxx and Channing Tatum.
Here’s the trailer for Olympus Has Fallen:
3 – “Ruthless crime-lord” and “Terrence Howard” paired together may not immediately seem like a fit, but, yes, Mr Howard stars in the action-thriller Dead Man Down, opposite Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace in its starring cast.
Howard’s character is named Alphonse Hoyt, and is described as a charming but brutal crime-lord who is accustomed to being feared, but who is thrown off guard when a mysterious tormenter (played by Colin Farrell) starts sabotaging his business from within, killing off his men one by one, as revenge for the death of his family.
Niels Arden Oplev (who helmed the original Swedish Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) directed the film.
A red-band trailer for the film is embedded below:
Johnson stars as a character named “Ransone” in a film that’s said to be based on the true story of a 1982 NYC armored car company robbery, thought at the time to be the largest cash heist in U.S. history.
Johnson is an NYPD officer who tries to prevent the robbery, which is orchestrated by a character played by Liam Hemsworth, a childhood friend.
5 – And finally, something quite different from the previous 4 testosterone-filled, Hollywood-heavy movies… A film that we first introduced you to when it debuted at the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival a year ago, titled Stud Life – the debut feature film from award-winning Brit filmmaker Campbell X, which is now available to USA audiences courtesy of Wolfe Video/On Demand, the largest exclusive distributor of LGBT films.
Described as an “homage to Spike Lee’s ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ and Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Sex, Lies And Videotape,” here’s the film’s synopsis:
JJ a lesbian and Seb a gay man are best friends. They work together and play together – they are tighter than a rat’s ass. Then JJ falls for Elle and has to split her attention between them both? Mates b4 muff? What would you do? Stud Life takes you on a journey into queer urban London life not seen in cinema but lived on the streets.
Vanessa interviewed Campbell last year for S&A – an insightful interview that you can read HERE if you missed it.
“This is a heart-warming feel good urban romance, showing the lives and loves of people not often seen in British cinema,” said Producer Stella Nwimo.
Director Campbell X added: “Hopefully ‘Stud Life’ will entertain as well as demystify some of the stereotypes surrounding the dynamic of Lesbian and Gay relationships and illustrate the often overlooked importance of friendships.“
Watch a teaser below:
